Dungannon farmer fined £1,000 for polluting 10km of waterway

A Co Tyrone farmer pleaded guilty and was fined £1,000, plus an offenders levy of £15 at Dungannon Magistrates Court this week.

Mr Thomas John Raymond Cuddy, Gorey Road, Dungannon, Co Tyrone, was fined for making a polluting discharge to a waterway.

On 21 April 2014, Water Quality Inspectors, acting on behalf of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, inspected an unnamed waterway at its confluence with the Altnaglushan River and observed that there was a heavy grey / brown plume together with a strong smell of agricultural effluent.

The polluting discharge was traced to farm premises owned by Mr Cuddy. The length of waterway impacted by the discharge was approximately 9.75 kilometres

A sample taken at the time of the incident confirmed that the discharge contained poisonous, noxious or polluting matter which was potentially harmful to fish life in the receiving waterway.

Anyone wishing to report a pollution incident can call the 24 hour Water Pollution Hotline on 0800 80 70 60.